January 2010 - Air-L - lists.aoir.org

Re: [Air-L] New Study: Learning in the Wild of a Virtual World
by scott＠scottmacleod.com 04 Jan '10

04 Jan '10

BODY { font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:12px; } Congratulations, Suzanne! I added a reference to http://www.webnographers.org/index.php?title=Papers#Second_Life [1] Happy New Year! Scott http://scottmacleod.com [2] http://worlduniversity.wikia.com/wiki/World_University [3] On Mon 04/01/10 4:44 PM , Suzanne Aurilio pict(a)rohan.sdsu.edu sent: Happy 2010 everyone, I wanted to share the findings of my recently completed study, a dissertation in education titled ³Learning in the Wild of a Virtual World.² PDFs of the entire project are here http://tinyurl.com/yjojsu3, the abstract is below. Please forgive cross-posting. Best, Suzanne Aurilio PS. I just realized I pdf-ed unsigned title pages, they have indeed been signed ;). Learning in the Wild of a Virtual World Abstract This study took place in the online 3D virtual world Second Life®, a recreational environment designed for world-building and socializing, and intended for individuals 18 years old and older. It described learning from the perspective of Second Life® Residents and focused on their world-building activities. As a virtual ethnographer, my avatar interacted with seven main participant-avatars in-world. Real life ages ranged from 33 years old to mid 50s; all but one were women. I collected data from 20 other Residents also. The study contributes to a nascent body of educational research exploring new forms of inquiry and practice conceived in virtual worlds, and breaks new ground by positioning itself in terms of a constructionist-learning context in which adults actively engage. The findings reiterate previous research of learning in virtual worlds. It is situated, social, intrinsically engaging and requires a high degree of personal agency. Learning in Second Life®, however, typifies constructionist principles, and qualities of adult learning which, in practice, are relevant to children as learners too. The context-specific activities of world-building invoke in learners a capacity to be self-directed problem-solvers of concrete and personally meaningful tasks. These activities result in novel expressive forms, and performative expressions of self through one¹s avatar. World-building engenders artists¹ and artisans¹ habits of mind in the forms of learning-by-doing and trial and error. Compared with the larger population, Second Life® Residents are trailblazers. I therefore proposed cyborg learners/learning as a formulation for characterizing the expressive forms and ways of learning documented here. * Learners embody avatars in a 3D graphical space. * They are geographically dispersed. * They occupy at least two or more social and technological locations simultaneously. * Learning is technologically and socially platform-specific. * It is socially interdependent. * It depends on intrinsically motivating activities. * It engenders forms of learning-by-doing. These findings contribute to a broad research paradigm addressing games for learning, mobile learning, open learning, personal learning environments (PLEs) and multi-user learning environments (MUVEs). ~~ Suzanne Aurilio, PhD Assistant Director pICT - People, Information and Communication Technologies San Diego State University 5500 Campanile Drive San Diego, CA 92182-1623 619-594-2953 Office AD220C pict.sdsu.edu sdsu-aztlan.wikispaces.com SL Aurili Oh Twitter saurili Delicious saurilio _______________________________________________ The mailing list is provided by the Association of Internet Researchers http://aoir.org Subscribe, change options or unsubscribe at: http://listserv.aoir.org/listinfo.cgi/air-l-aoir.org Join the Association of Internet Researchers: http://www.aoir.org/ Links: ------ [1] http://www.webnographers.org/index.php?title=Papers#Second_Life [2] http://scottmacleod.com [3] http://worlduniversity.wikia.com/wiki/World_University

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Re: [Air-L] Reputation and friending (was Reid Cornwell)
by Poletti, Anna 04 Jan '10

04 Jan '10

This seems as good a time as any to de-lurk on this list; hello everyone. I wanted to take up Alexander's first question with an observation from the perspective of literary studies. In regards to facebook, I increasingly see parallels with the social world depicted by Jane Austen in a conversation like the one that has unfolded on the list; being the friend of a reputable / desirable person (such as Henry Jenkins) confers respectability on another, the 'critical mass' of social connections makes a subject like Cornwell the topic of conversation (dare I say gossip?) within a particular world. (I do take Alexander's point that the blurring of the professional and the social in the discussion of Cornwell raises interesting ethical questions. Austen shows, however, that the temptation of such discussion is great, because the power such connections and associations wield is significant (or appear to wield?). This is not to dismiss the ethical questions raised by Alexander and others, but merely to suggest how the discussion of a person's character can be read as symptomatic of the seriousness and meaning that gets attached to the issue.) Austen's comic talents come to the fore in extrapolating the problems and dilemmas that can arise from being led by the social network and its methods of constructing and conferring respectability, and identity. And so I want to answer Alexander's question by suggesting that not much has changed. Drawing a parallel with Austen is useful as she can offer some finely-grained ways of thinking about the function of social networking and its impact on how we develop identities in tightly networked environments (and yes, I guess I am suggesting that the version of the internet many of us experience has things in common with an English village and the middle class social world). Social and professional mores suggest I should avoid a gratuitous plug for the book I'm co-editing on online identity, but a case study on trolling would be a welcome addition. Anna Dr Anna Poletti Lecturer in English School of Humanities & Social Sciences Charles Sturt University Locked Bag 678 Wagga Wagga NSW 2678 e: apoletti(a)csu.edu.au ph: + 61 2 6933 2478 fax: +61 2 6933 2792 --------- Message: 9 Date: Mon, 4 Jan 2010 14:37:48 -0500 From: Alexander Halavais <halavais(a)gmail.com> To: air-l(a)aoir.org Subject: [Air-L] Reputation and friending (was Reid Cornwell) Message-ID: <e0fe0c741001041137k35373dbfqfc69e86af1f7f417(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 This may seem at odds with a URL posted earlier, but with the greatest respect (and sympathy) for those who have already entered into this thread, I humbly suggest that discussing any person's character on AIR-L is: 1. Inappropriate. AIR-L is intended to further research and while it frequently becomes a more friendly community, none of us would want our personal character adjudicated in such a public setting. So, to second Peter's comment, I think we should quit it. 2. Ineffective. Really, the question of whether to befriend someone or "friend" someone is more effectively handled by talking to people you trust and, for people who write in public, reading what they have said. Why would you trust 2,000 relative strangers' opinions on another stranger? If we want to talk about something a person has written, an argument they have made, or even a project they have undertaken, that's another kettle of fish, and this would be a great topic. 3. Boring. I don't really care, particularly, about the reputation of a single person. I know some do--that's why TMZ rakes in the bucks. I encourage someone to start a Reid Cornwell fan page on Facebook, or an "anti-fan" page if they prefer. I just don't think it is why people come to AIR-L. So, since the above is very much "do as I say, not as I do," I recommend the following tangents, which actually take those issues on without ever having to talk about any single person: 1. Has the nature of reputation changed? Do we now make friends in a different way? Most of the people I consider friends IRL I met either because I was introduced to them by people I trusted, or because we were forced to work together on something (school, work, sporting team, chain gang, same diff.). But now, I feel Helen's pain: If you are a friend of Henry's shouldn't you also be my friend? 2. Is whuffie a reasonable construct? Do we all, like public officials, now have "approval ratings"? Did we always, and now it is more explicit? 3. How, when anyone online can be a dog, do we determine if someone is a "mensch"? I know that many of you on this list have "alts," and nom de plumes (d'ordinateurs?). If you are like me, you are concerned that they keep their "good name," even if they happen to be fake. How do we determine if a person or an organization is "legitimate"? If it "matters"? When does the social construct of a public persona or organization become "real"? Where is the border between astroturf and grass roots--or is there any? (Obviously, this is a question Wikipedia struggles with.) Discuss. </threadjack> -- -- // // This email is // [x] assumed public and may be blogged / forwarded. // [ ] assumed to be private, please ask before redistributing. // // Alexander C. Halavais, ciberfl?neur // http://alex.halavais.net //

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New Study: Learning in the Wild of a Virtual World
by Suzanne Aurilio 04 Jan '10

04 Jan '10

Happy 2010 everyone, I wanted to share the findings of my recently completed study, a dissertation in education titled ³Learning in the Wild of a Virtual World.² PDFs of the entire project are here http://tinyurl.com/yjojsu3, the abstract is below. Please forgive cross-posting. Best, Suzanne Aurilio PS. I just realized I pdf-ed unsigned title pages, they have indeed been signed ;). Learning in the Wild of a Virtual World Abstract This study took place in the online 3D virtual world Second Life®, a recreational environment designed for world-building and socializing, and intended for individuals 18 years old and older. It described learning from the perspective of Second Life® Residents and focused on their world-building activities. As a virtual ethnographer, my avatar interacted with seven main participant-avatars in-world. Real life ages ranged from 33 years old to mid 50s; all but one were women. I collected data from 20 other Residents also. The study contributes to a nascent body of educational research exploring new forms of inquiry and practice conceived in virtual worlds, and breaks new ground by positioning itself in terms of a constructionist-learning context in which adults actively engage. The findings reiterate previous research of learning in virtual worlds. It is situated, social, intrinsically engaging and requires a high degree of personal agency. Learning in Second Life®, however, typifies constructionist principles, and qualities of adult learning which, in practice, are relevant to children as learners too. The context-specific activities of world-building invoke in learners a capacity to be self-directed problem-solvers of concrete and personally meaningful tasks. These activities result in novel expressive forms, and performative expressions of self through one¹s avatar. World-building engenders artists¹ and artisans¹ habits of mind in the forms of learning-by-doing and trial and error. Compared with the larger population, Second Life® Residents are trailblazers. I therefore proposed cyborg learners/learning as a formulation for characterizing the expressive forms and ways of learning documented here. * Learners embody avatars in a 3D graphical space. * They are geographically dispersed. * They occupy at least two or more social and technological locations simultaneously. * Learning is technologically and socially platform-specific. * It is socially interdependent. * It depends on intrinsically motivating activities. * It engenders forms of learning-by-doing. These findings contribute to a broad research paradigm addressing games for learning, mobile learning, open learning, personal learning environments (PLEs) and multi-user learning environments (MUVEs). ~~ Suzanne Aurilio, PhD Assistant Director pICT - People, Information and Communication Technologies San Diego State University 5500 Campanile Drive San Diego, CA 92182-1623 619-594-2953 Office AD220C pict.sdsu.edu sdsu-aztlan.wikispaces.com SL Aurili Oh Twitter saurili Delicious saurilio

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Re: [Air-L] Reid Cornwell
by Ulla Bunz 04 Jan '10

04 Jan '10

People might want to read Alex Havalais' page on Reid Cornwell. http://alex.halavais.net/dr-w-reid-cornwell He has lots of well-known FB friends? Hm... if you think that makes him legit, then you should consider the number of replies to this inquiry just this time around that said something like, "Yeah, I'm his FB friend too, though I'm not sure why." Make up your own mind but remember what we're teaching our students - just cause it's online it doesn't mean it's true. And just because it's popular, it doesn't mean it's high quality (the Google search hierarchy argument). Ulla

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Pratt-SILS Announces a Tenure-Track Faculty Position
by Debbie Rabina 04 Jan '10

04 Jan '10

Subject:* Pratt-SILS Announces a Tenure-Track Faculty Position - Interviews at ALISE Boston 2010 *Pratt Institute, School of Information and Library Science invites applications for a fulltime tenure-track position at the rank of assistant professor*. This position begins fall 2010. Applicants should hold a PhD in LIS or a related field. Preference will be given to applicants who have a developed research agenda and scholarly publications and experience in teaching at the college/ university level and establish strong connections between research and teaching. Located in the heart of Manhattan, we seek a faculty member who will thrive in New York's culturally diverse environment and will engage with the Pratt community to pursue creative and innovative approaches to their work and who will help enrich and develop the Pratt-SILS degree and certificate programs. Responding to LIS in the digital world and across a wide spectrum of environments, including libraries, museum, archives and the IT sector, we seek a creative and innovative faculty member with research and teaching in one or more of the following areas as well as highly relevant areas that you may choose to identify: . Web/ Internet and digital media across libraries, archives and museums . Digital design for information systems, networks, platforms - open source and open access . Creating digital environments and resources for literacy, education and outreach including visualization and mapping of information . Digital curation, management and preservation including digital repositories with focus on cultural institutions. . User studies and research addressing issues of information in the digital world over local and global networks Within the context of the School's emphasis on cultural informatics, the position supports a range of curriculum and programs including certificate programs in archives and museum libraries, the WISE program (World Information, Society and Environments) - a program placing law, business, policy and health in digital and global contexts and our new dual degree program (MSLIS and MFA in Digital Arts) focusing on research and the use of digital tools for information learning and content rich Web environments. *Interviews at ALISE Boston 2010: * Members of our search committee will be attending the ALISE Boston conference. to hold interviews for this position. If you would like to apply, please send via email a cover letter, CV and a statement on your teaching and research to: Dr. Debbie Rabina - drabina(a)pratt.edu <mailto:drabina@pratt.edu> (_Please apply by email only and indicate whether you will be attending ALISE.)_ For applicants not attending ALISE, we will be interviewing candidates in New York in February through the first two weeks of March. Pratt Institute is an equal opportunity employer. Salary is competitive and commensurate with education and experience -- Debbie Rabina, Ph.D, Assistant Professor Pratt Institute, School of Information and Library Science 144 West 14th Street, 6th fl. New York, NY, 10011-7301 drabina(a)pratt.edu http://mysite.pratt.edu/~drabina/index.htm On Librarything: http://www.librarything.com/catalog/DLRlibrary Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail

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tenure-stream appt. New Media and Children's Literature, University of Toronto
by Matthew Ratto 04 Jan '10

04 Jan '10

see job ad below: > Title: Assistant / Associate / Full Professor - New Media and > Children's Literature - 0901099 > > Job Field: Tenure Stream > > Faculty / Division: Faculty of Information > > Department: Faculty of Information > > Campus: St. George (downtown Toronto) > > Job Posting: 17/Dec/09 > > Closing Date: 31/Jan/10 Open until filled > > Description: > > The Faculty of Information at the University of Toronto is > extending its reach in terms of research and teaching scope; the > Faculty is expanding both in terms of number of people and in scope. > The Faculty invites applications for one tenure-stream appointment > at the rank of Assistant, Associate, or Full Professor to begin on > July 1, 2010. > > The Faculty seeks a scholar who transcends traditional divisions > and we invite applications from candidates with active research > agendas within one or more of the following areas: (i) new media and > children's literature; (ii) new media and youth and young adult's > resources and information services; (iii) new media and children. > Candidates with expertise in non-traditional classes of literature > and new media (e.g. games, immersive online environments, novel > forms of storytelling) would be welcomed. > > We seek candidates with excellent research and teaching abilities > and a commitment to shaping the future of the Faculty and the field > of information. The candidate’s research agenda should fit with the > Faculty’s focus and mission. The Faculty's 2004-10 Academic Plan > recognizes that society's information practices are being > reconfigured and transformed by material shifts in infrastructures > as well as political and cultural shifts in our attitudes toward > information as a social phenomenon. In this context, as part of a > multi-year process of Faculty renewal, a faculty member is sought to > help rethink and reshape the information profession through > innovative teaching and collaborative research projects. The > University of Toronto offers the opportunity to teach, conduct > research and live in one of the most culturally diverse cities in > the world. The Faculty of Information provides a context in which to > work in an emerging interdisciplinary environment and in a range of > collaborative programs including Addiction Studies; Aging, > Palliative and Supportive Care Across the Life Course; Book History > and Print Culture; Environment; Knowledge Media Design; Sexual > Diversity Studies; Women’s Health; and Women and Gender Studies. > Candidates must have a PhD (or equivalent), a proven record of > scholarship, experience with multidisciplinary research, and strong > teaching experience. Additional qualifications for those applying at > the Associate or Full Professor level include experience leading > research projects and working with graduate students. Experience > developing new curricula is an asset. Rank and salary will be > competitive and commensurate with qualifications and experience. > Evidence of excellence in teaching and research is necessary. > Faculty website: http://www.ischool.utoronto.ca Faculty academic > plan: http://www.ischool.utoronto.ca/images/documents/about/fisacademicplan.pdf > > Applicants should send curriculum vitae, teaching dossier, copies > of three representative papers/publications, a statement outlining > current and future research interests, and a list of three > references to the address below. (Applicants at the Assistant > Professor level should arrange to have three letters of > recommendation sent, under separate cover, to the same address.) > > Application deadline is January 31, 2010 but the search will remain > open until the position is filled. > > We strongly encourage you to submit your application online by > clicking on the following link: https://utoronto.taleo.net/careersection/10050/jobdetail.ftl?lang=en&job=09… > > If you are unable to apply online, please submit your application > and other materials to the following address: > > Submissions: areti.vourinaris(a)utoronto.ca > > Inquiries: h.macneil(a)utoronto.ca

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Reputation and friending (was Reid Cornwell)
by Alexander Halavais 04 Jan '10

04 Jan '10

This may seem at odds with a URL posted earlier, but with the greatest respect (and sympathy) for those who have already entered into this thread, I humbly suggest that discussing any person's character on AIR-L is: 1. Inappropriate. AIR-L is intended to further research and while it frequently becomes a more friendly community, none of us would want our personal character adjudicated in such a public setting. So, to second Peter's comment, I think we should quit it. 2. Ineffective. Really, the question of whether to befriend someone or "friend" someone is more effectively handled by talking to people you trust and, for people who write in public, reading what they have said. Why would you trust 2,000 relative strangers' opinions on another stranger? If we want to talk about something a person has written, an argument they have made, or even a project they have undertaken, that's another kettle of fish, and this would be a great topic. 3. Boring. I don't really care, particularly, about the reputation of a single person. I know some do--that's why TMZ rakes in the bucks. I encourage someone to start a Reid Cornwell fan page on Facebook, or an "anti-fan" page if they prefer. I just don't think it is why people come to AIR-L. So, since the above is very much "do as I say, not as I do," I recommend the following tangents, which actually take those issues on without ever having to talk about any single person: 1. Has the nature of reputation changed? Do we now make friends in a different way? Most of the people I consider friends IRL I met either because I was introduced to them by people I trusted, or because we were forced to work together on something (school, work, sporting team, chain gang, same diff.). But now, I feel Helen's pain: If you are a friend of Henry's shouldn't you also be my friend? 2. Is whuffie a reasonable construct? Do we all, like public officials, now have "approval ratings"? Did we always, and now it is more explicit? 3. How, when anyone online can be a dog, do we determine if someone is a "mensch"? I know that many of you on this list have "alts," and nom de plumes (d'ordinateurs?). If you are like me, you are concerned that they keep their "good name," even if they happen to be fake. How do we determine if a person or an organization is "legitimate"? If it "matters"? When does the social construct of a public persona or organization become "real"? Where is the border between astroturf and grass roots--or is there any? (Obviously, this is a question Wikipedia struggles with.) Discuss. </threadjack> -- -- // // This email is // [x] assumed public and may be blogged / forwarded. // [ ] assumed to be private, please ask before redistributing. // // Alexander C. Halavais, ciberflâneur // http://alex.halavais.net //

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Reid Cornwell
by helen roinioti 04 Jan '10

04 Jan '10

Hi everybody, I got a friend request in facebook from dr Reid Cornwell. He also send me an invitation to register at the Center for Internet Research, something that puzzled me I did a little bit of digging to see whats going on but i am still a little bit confused...i would appreciate if someone enlighten me Thanks a lot E.

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Final Reminder - CfP: Networking Democracy? New Media Innovations in Participatory Politics
by Dan Mercea 04 Jan '10

04 Jan '10

Dear all, This is a gentle reminder that the final deadline for our CfP is fast approaching. If you would like to attend our symposium please send us your abstracts before 11 January. Apologies for cross-postings. Best wishes, Dan -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Call for Papers: “Networking Democracy? New media innovations in participatory politics” A three day Symposium to be held at Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj, Romania 25-27 June 2010 Website: http://www.brisc.info/NetDem/index.php?page=networking-democracy ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Democratic politics worldwide are increasingly being conducted and re-configured through the domain of digital communications networks. The socio-technical developments, such as Web 2.0, facilitating these media-saturated public spheres are in little doubt. What is highly contested however is the interpretation of what these profound changes offer for democratic governance in the twenty-first century. At its heart is the recognition that these new media networks are themselves the crucial site for a historical confrontation between opposing political and/or business interests and discourses intent upon forging new forms of social relations. We will address questions such as: What new forms and relations of power are produced in the digital network society? Who are the key social actors shaping the new public sphere and what are their respective strategies, framing, and repertoires of action? What is the democratic potential of Web 2.0 applications such as social networking, blogging and twittering? What empirical evidence do we have to understand and assess these developments? How is networked democracy influencing new democratic societies? What are its consequences for human rights, social sorting, migration, e-government, community politics, surveillance, protest, participation, culture, identity, mobilization, representation, nationalism, security, citizen journalism, trust, regulation, both exogenous and self-regulation and much more? Speakers include: W. Lance Bennett <http://depts.washington.edu/bennett/about.html>, University of Washington, USA Bruce Bimber <http://www.polsci.ucsb.edu/faculty/bimber/>, University of California at Santa Barbara, USA Donatella Della Porta <http://www.eui.eu/DepartmentsAndCentres/PoliticalAndSocialSciences/People/P…>, European University Institute, Italy William H. Dutton <http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk/people/faculty.cfm?id=1>, Oxford Internet Institute, UK Brian Loader <http://www.york.ac.uk/depts/soci/about/s_load.htm>, University of York, UK Rodica Mocan <http://www.plaxo.com/directory/profile/141734557021/4e737db5/Rodica/Mocan>, Babeş-Bolyai University, Romania We invite papers from all disciplines which have addressed these topics. The paper title, an abstract of up to 500 words, a short bio and contact details should be sent to Dan Mercea, Department of Sociology, University of York, Heslington, YO10 5DD, dmm505(a)york.ac.uk <mailto:dmm505@york.ac.uk> before 7 December 2009. Notifications of acceptance will be sent out by 15 January 2010. For more details visit http://www.brisc.info/NetDem/ The event is supported by the Center for Political Analysis <http://www.polito.ubbcluj.ro/cpa/en/index.html>and the European Studies Department <http://www.euro.ubbcluj.ro/en/> (Babeş-Bolyai University), the Science and Technology Studies Unit <http://www.york.ac.uk/res/satsu/> and the Department of Sociology <http://www.york.ac.uk/depts/soci/degrees/resscitech.htm>(University of York) Selected papers from the conference will be published in a special issue of the international journal Information, Communication and Society <http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/rics> IMPORTANT DATES: Submission deadline: 11 January 2009 Notifications of acceptance: before 29 January 2010 Symposium: 25-27 June 2010 -- Dan Mercea PhD Candidate Communication Studies Department of Sociology University of York E: dmm505(a)york.ac.uk T: +44(0)1904 433578

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Web 2.0 'Suicide Machine'
by Richard Forno 04 Jan '10

04 Jan '10

Interesting concept, though I wonder how long it will remain online. -rick MSM article: Wipe The Slate Clean For 2010, Commit Web 2.0 Suicide http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/12/31/web-2-0-suicide/ ...and the site itself... http://suicidemachine.org/ Tired of your Social Network? Liberate your newbie friends with a Web2.0 suicide! This machine lets you delete all your energy sucking social-networking profiles, kill your fake virtual friends, and completely do away with your Web2.0 alterego. The machine is just a metaphor for the website which moddr_ is hosting; the belly of the beast where the web2.0 suicide scripts are maintained. Our service currently runs with Facebook, Myspace, Twitter and LinkedIn! Commit NOW!

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